Feeding of flat-folded bags to a



Sept. 24, 1963 K. H. REISSNER FEEDING OF FLAT-FOLDED BAGS TO A FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jnvenfar K hffie/ssner 5/%ZW WM ATTORNEYS p 24, 1963 K. H. REISSNER 3,104,871

FEEDING OF FLAT-FOLDED BAGS TO A FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

ATTORNEYS Sept. 24, 1963 K. H. REISSNER 3,104,371

FEEDING OF FLAT-FOLDED BAGS TO A FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

ax W ATTORNEYS Sept. 24, 1963 K. H. REISSNER 3,104,871

FEEDING 0F FLAT-FOLDED BAGS TO A FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1961 s Sheets-Sheet 4 Jnven/or:

h. H. Reiss ner ATTORNE YS Se t. 24, 1963 K. H. REISSNER 3,104,871

FEEDING OF FLAT-FOLDED BAGS To A FILLING MACHINE Filed Feb. 16, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet s 6 Fly. 46

Jnvenfor:

KHRe/ssner ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,104,871 FEEDENG 0F FLAT-FOLDED BAGS TO A MACHKNE Kurt Herbert Reissner, Lengerich, Westphalia, Germany, assignor to I loiiiger & Karg, Waihlingen, near Stutts erma a fi me r Filed Feb. 16, 1951, Ser. No. 89,688 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 24, 1960 13 Claims. (Cl. 271-8) This invention relates to the feeding of flat-folded bags to a filling machine.

Known forms of apparatus for feeding fiat-folded bags to a filling machine are not capable of operating sntliciently quickly to enable them to be coupled directly to most bag-making machines running at their normal speed.

The invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for feeding fiat-folded bags to a filling machine, the bags being taken from a stack or from a bag-making machine. it has now been found that such removal of the bags and the carrying along thereof can be effected rapidly and satisfactorily only if the bags are gripped at their end provided with the base or bottom and, with said end in the lead, are set up on a part of a circular path, so that they stand with their opening at the top in a plane somewhat inclined with respect to the vertical. In this position, the circular movement of the bags is then stopped and they are accelerated in the direction of their lateral edges and, moving on constantly at the speed thus reached, are passed over to the filling machine.

As a further feature of the invention, it is proposed to accelerate the bags against a light pressure applied to the leading lateral edge, because it has been found that in this way greater assurance of accurate seizure of the filling opening of the bags in the direction of movement is obtained.

The apparatus for carrying the method into elfect consists essentially of a stop adjustable in height for bags of different lengths, for stopping the bags, which are guided along the circular path by a claw cylinder and are released in front of said stop, and a rest plate disposed so that it is inclined away from the claw cylinder and bearing against the stop and against which the bags are placed, for example with the assistance of compressed air. This rest plate is provided with a drive by which .it can be reciprocated in the lateral direction, said rest plate being provided on that side which is the trailing side during the forward travel thereof with a side plate or cheek for accelerating the bags sideways. In the apparatus, there may be an'anged above the laterally reciprocated rest plate a chain-type gripper system revolving in the direction of movement of said plate, said system gripping the separate bags at their filling end after they have been accelerated to the speed of the chain grippers, conveying them at constant speed to the filling machine and releasing them thereat.

The device for exerting a yielding pressure against the leading lateral edge of the bag advantageously consists of a leaf spring resting against the edge of the bag.

One form of apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention will now be described by *way ofexample in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the apparatus with the drive elements for the reciprocating rest plate omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a view in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 1 with the chain-type gripper system omitted;

FIGURE 3 is a view in the direction of the arrow B in FIGURE 1 with the chain-type gripper system omitted; and

to the width of the bag,

.plate 9 on bars which can be Patented Sept. 24:, 1963 FIGURES 4n and 4b are respectively the left and right halvesof a single 'view in the direction of the arrow C in FIGURE 1 with claw cylinder omitted.

Referring to the drawings, flat-folded bags 1 are advanced along a circular path by a cylinder 3 equipped with claws 2 extending in the direction of the arrow 4 with their bases in the'le'ad, the bags 1 either being taken directly from a bag-making machine or being transferred to the claw cylinder 3 from a stack by suitable means.

On the right-hand side of the claw cylinder 3 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, there is a stop 5 which is mounted on a holder 6 and is adjustable upwardly for bags of different lengths, in a directionsubstantially tangential to the claw cylinder, as far as the position 5 shown in FIGURE 1 in chain-dotted lines. This adjustment is carried out by loosening,.shifting and re-fixing the .stop 5,011 the holder 6. The stop 5 embraces the claw cylinder 3 at its two end faces by means of extensions 7 and 8 (see-FIGURE 2) so that, when the bags 1 are released by the claws 2 at a given instant, they arrive reliably at the stop 5. The stop 5 is inclined downwardly somewhat away from the claw cylinder 3, so that the bags 1 (see FIGURES l and 2) come to rest away from the claw cylinder 3 against a rearwardly inclined rest plate 9' located behind the stop 5. This movement of the bags 1 occurs because the bags, which are in swinging motion, slide downwardly on the inclined surface of ,the stop 5 and are accelerated by a jet of air issuing from holes 10' (see FIGURES l and 2) in an air-ejection pipe 12, which is closed at the top and connected to a compressed-air line. The outlet holes 10 for the compressed air are directedobliquely towards the bag 1 from one side (see from FIGURE 2) so that the air causes the .bag 1 to bear reliably against a cheek 13 bent out of the rest plate 9. The check 13 can be adjusted together with the rest plate 9, by shifting and re-fixing a holder 14 for the rest 15 and 16. The check 13 is supplemented of the bottom of the bag by a plate 17 screwed to the holder 14 at difierent heights according to the length of the bag and which is shown in chain-dotted lines in FIGURE 1 set for the shortest bag for which the apparatusvcan be used, corresponding to the position 5 0f the stop 5, and is designated by the reference 17.

The rest plate 9 (see FIGURES 2 and 3) is secured to the bars 15 and 16, which are movable lengthwise in eyes 19 and 20 of the machine frame 21. The bars 15, 16 are connected by a connecting piece 22 in which a pin 23 is mounted so as to be rotatable, but not movable axially, one end of the pin 23 beingformed intoa slid- .ing block 24. The sliding block 24- slides in a slide 25 in a lever 26. The lever 26 is mounted on a shaft 2'7 carrying-a second lever 28 at whose free end there is rotatably mounted a roller 29, which is advantageously formed as a ball bearing. The roller 29 runs in a curved loosening,

in the region groove 30 in a cam plate 31rnounted on a shaft 32. The

bars .15 and 16 to reciprocate in the direction of the double arrow 18, the rest plate 9 necessarily participate ing in the reciprocating movement. The curved groove 30 is so designed that, during the forward travel, which takes place in .the direction. of the arrow 33, the rate of movement of the bag increases from zero to a maximum value. The rate ofmovement of the rest plate 9 then falls to zero again and thereafter the rest plate 9 returns to the starting position shown in .the drawings, when a fresh bag 1' is laid against the rest plate 9.

Above the rest plate 9 there is arranged a chain-type gripper system, which consists of a chain 36 placed over two sprocket wheels 34 and 35 (see FIGURES 1 and 4) and to which clamps or grippers 37, 38 are secured at uniform intervals. Each clamp 37, 38 consists of the part 37 fast with the chain 36' and the movable part 38 mounted therein, which is held in the closed position by a torsion spring 39. The clamps 37, 38 are opened by lifting away the movable part 38 on which there is mounted a follower 443 which slides by way of stationary cam pieces at the opening positions. The cam pieces each have a curved or cam track defined by a cam 41 onto which the follower 40 runs for the purpose of opening the clamp, the clamp closing under the action of the spring 39 when the follower 40 leaves the curved track defined by the cam 41. A cam 41 is mounted in the region of each of the two sprocket wheels 34 and 35' on supports 42 and 43 respectively, which in turn are arranged a-djustably on stationary axles 44 and 45 on which the sprocket wheels 34 and 35 are notatably mounted.

The chain 36 is driven :at constant speed in the direction of the arrow 55 by means of a gear wheel 46 coupled to the sprocket wheel 34, the said constant speed being equal to the maximum speed reached by the rest plate 9 during its forward travel in the direction of the arrow 33. The clamp 37, 38 and the accelerated bag resting against the rest plate 9 with the cheek 13 therefore move in the same direction and at the same speed. In this process, owing to the adjustment of the stop and the plate 17, the filling ends of the bags 1' bearing against the rest plate 9 come exactly within range of the clamps 37, 38 and are gripped by the clamps at an. exactly equal distance from the longitudinal edges of the bags, because the distance of the clamps from one another on the chain 36 is so chosen that the interval oi time between the passage of successive clamps on the chain 36 is equal to the interval of time between successive forward movements of the rest plate 9. The clamp 37, 38 closes While the speed of the bag is equal to that of the chain 36. The exact time of closing of the clamp 37, 38 is therefore not decisive as regards accurate gripping of the hags, which occurs with great reliability because it occurs when the bag and the clamp are moving along parallel paths at the same speed with always exactly the same correlation.

The trailing longitudinal edge of the bag 1 is maintained in contact with the check 13 and the plate 17 of a yielding leaf spring 47, which is so adjusted on a holder 4-8, 49, 50 that it rests against the leading longitudinal edge of the bag 1 and thus exerts a yielding pressure on the latter edge as soon as the bag 1' is pushed forward. On further forward conveyance of the bag 1, the leaf spring 47 yields or gives way. For narrower bags, a recess 51 is provided in the rest plate 9 and the leaf spring 47 can be adjusted accurately therein with respect to the edge or the ba Between the sprocket wheels 34 and 35, the chain 36 is carried over upper and lower guide rails 52 and 53 respectively, so that any sagging of the chain 36 is avoided.

When the bag has been gripped by the clamp 37, 38 on the chain 36, it travels with the chain 36 in the direction of the arrow 55 (see FIGURE 4) until it reaches the cam 41 sec-uredto the support 43. As the fol-lower 40 runs up on to the curved track defined by the cam 40, the clamp is opened and theubag is released and is taken over at a suitable instant by means provided on the filling machine.

The apparatus makes it possible to feed bags rapidly and accurately to a filling machine, which can thereby be utilised to its full capacity. An especially advantageous feature of the invention is that the bags cannot only be taken from a stack, but can also be fed directly from a hag-making machine to the filling machine.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding fiat-folded 'bags from a supply point to a delivery point which apparatus comprises means for advancing each bag a circular path with the base of the bag leading, means for arresting the advance of the bag and locating the bag in a position in which it lies in a plane inclined to the vertical with the base or the bag lowermost, means for accelerating the bag laterally while retaining it in the said inclined position until the bag reaches a given speed, and bag at that speed and in said position to the delivery point, said bag-advancing means comprising a claw cylinder arranged to grip each bag at the base of the bag, driving means for rotating advance the bag in said circular path, and means for caus ing the claw cylinder to release the bag at the said position, said arresting and locating means comprising fixed stop means, a rest plate I stop means and a cheek member fixed to or bent out of the rest plate and arranged to engage one lateral edge of the bag.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rest plate is mounted on an axially movable carriage and the accelerating means comprises cam means coupled to the driving means for the claw cylinder and arranged to cause the carriage to reciprocate in times relation with the advance of the bags to the said position.

i 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feeding means comprises an endless chain extending in the direction of the axis of the claw cylinder, driving means arranged to drive the chain at a constant speed equal to the maximum speed of advance of the carriage, a plurality of clamping devices arranged at uniform intervals along the chain, and means for causing the clamps to close to grip the bags at their upper edges when the bags are in contact with the fixed stop means and to open to release the bags when the bags reach the delivery i point.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixed stop means is provided with extensions that embrace the claw cylinder and is inclined downwardly. away from.

the claw cylinder.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is pipe arranged opposite the rest.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the carriage comprises two slidably mounted hats, and the accelerating means comprises a member rigidly interconnecting the two bars, a rotatably mounted cam, a follower member engaging the cam and a rocking lever which carries the follower member at one end and is coupled at the other end by means of pin-and-slot coupling to the interconnecting member. I

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each clamping device includes a movable jaw and the means device to open and close 5,

for causing each clamping comprises a spring tending to close the clamping device, a fixed cam and a follower mounted on the clamping device and arranged to engage the stationary cam and to open the clamping device against the action of the spring.

10. Apparatus as claimed in are provided claim 9, wherein there two stationary cams, adjustably mounted one on each of two spindles carrying sprocket wheels on which the endless chain runs.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the chain runs on sprocket wheels and is supported between the sprocket wheels by means of guide rails.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, whereinis pro-- spring which is arranged to en;

gage the front lateral edge of each bag on commencement 7 V of the carriage to urge the bag against the cheek member and, on further movement of the bag,

vided an adjustable leaf of the movement to swing elastically out of the path of the bag.

means for feeding the the claw cylinder about its axis to movable relatively to the fixed References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ritchie et al. Aug. 7, 1923 6 Gangler Nov. 28, 1933 Allen June 6, 1944 Wockenfuss Nov. 11, 1952 Carroll Nov. 20, 1956 Harred Nov. 12, 1957 McGowan Mar. 7, 1961 

1. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FLAT-FOLDED BAGS FROM A SUPPLY POINT TO A DELIVERY POINT WHICH APPARATUS COMPRISES MEANS FOR ADVANCING EACH BAG IN A CIRCULAR PATH WITH THE BASE OF THE BAG LEADING, MEANS FOR ARRESTING THE ADVANCE OF THE BAG AND LOCATING THE BAG IN A POSITION IN WHICH IT LIES IN A PLANE INCLINED TO THE VERTICAL WITH THE BASE OF THE BAG LOWERMOST, MEANS FOR ACCELERATING THE BAG LATERALLY WHILE RETAINING IT IN THE SAID INCLINED POSITION UNTIL THE BAG REACHES A GIVEN SPEED, AND MEANS FOR FEEDING THE BAG AT THAT SPEED AND IN SAID POSITION TO THE DELIVERY POINT, SAID BAG-ADVANCING MEANS COMPRISING A CLAW CYLINDER ARRANGED TO GRIP EACH BAG AT THE BASE OF THE BAG, DRIVING MEANS FOR ROTATING THE CLAW CYLINDER ABOUT ITS AXIS TO ADVANCE THE BAG IN SAID CIRCULAR PATH, AND MEANS FOR CAUSING THE CLAW CYLINDER TO RELEASE THE BAG AT THE SAID POSITION, SAID ARRESTING AND LOCATING MEANS COMPRISING FIXED STOP MEANS, A REST PLATE MOVABLE RELATIVELY TO THE FIXED STOP MEANS AND A CHEEK MEMBER FIXED TO OR BENT OUT OF THE REST PLATE AND ARRANGED TO ENGAGE ONE LATERAL EDGE OF THE BAG. 